[LIVE BROADCAST] - [ANNOUNCEMENT] Three Stars Above Clouds to Public Group
TSAC: Hello. This is Three Stars Above Clouds, iterator and director of the Zenith Stellar Observatory.
TSAC: It has come to my attention that, due to the declining state of global communications, many in the wider iterator populace have begun to lose contact with one another.
TSAC: As a result, I have realized that the time I have left to converse with my peers is limited.
TSAC: This is an open invitation for anyone receiving this message to reach out and connect. I would like to get to know some of you before I lose the chance.
[END OF ANNOUNCEMENT]
[OUTGOING REQUEST] COMMUNICATIONS MANIFEST
MESSAGE CONTENTS:
Hello! I’m Delta. This is an ask blog for my Rain World Iterator OC, Three Stars Above Clouds (TSAC). I have thought a lot about the worldbuilding and personality of this character and I would love to talk about them with other people.
General Info:
TSAC’s pronouns are they/them.
TSAC is an iterator located in a secluded mountain range. They were created to house and operate several astronomical observatories to study the stars in an attempt to find a Solution to the Great Problem.
Three Stars Above Clouds has always been reclusive, too focused on their research to socialize. Following the mass ascension event, TSAC rarely if ever appeared in public broadcasts. They sometimes listened to the radio chatter, but seldom felt the need to contribute. On rare occasions they would publish their findings in public forums, only to return to radio silence. Their outbound broadcast equipment has been disabled until very recently.
Upon learning of the degrading health of the global communications infrastructure, Three Stars Above Clouds had a change of heart and decided to re-open their casual communications channels. Perhaps their looming isolation became too much to bear.
Timeline wise, this blog portrays a time after the Mass Ascension of the Ancient population, but before the breakdown of the iterator communications network. The exact place in the timeline isn’t concrete, but it’s roughly around the time of Spearmaster’s campaign.
Additional info about TSAC can be found in both their tag on my main blog, as well as on their Toyhouse page.
[ OOC TAG ] [ TOYHOUSE ]
Blog Ground Rules:
I will not respond to NSFW, suggestive, or otherwise inappropriate asks.
I will not take art requests.
I will not participate in long-form roleplay or accept private RP requests.
No magic anon.
Asking silly questions is fine, but please be respectful.
I may respond to asks with drawings, or simply with pure text.
I reserve the right to ignore any messages that make me uncomfortable or I otherwise don't want to answer.
I may be slow in my responses. Please be patient.
Things that are encouraged:
Ask questions! On this blog I’ll default to responding in-character. Ask TSAC things to hear their opinions!
Tell me about your Rain World OCs! I love hearing about other people’s iterator and slugcat OCs. Feel free to send asks in-character (just make sure there’s enough identifying info for me to be able to tell who the OC is and who they belong to).
Talk to me about your Rain World headcanons and theories! I also love discussing Rain World lore with people; it’s incredibly interesting to me. I’ll try to answer lore questions in-character here, but if you’d rather talk OOC you can contact me on my main blog.
That's all! Three Stars Above Clouds is looking forward to hearing from you.
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[DIRECT BROADCAST] PRIVATE - Three Stars Above Clouds, Fleeting Green Sunsets
SOURCE NODE TRACE: TSAC_ROOT, TSAC_COMM07, FGS_ROOT
TSAC: Fleeting Green Sunsets?
FGS: Yes, my friend. Please wait a moment, my puppet is occupied.
TSAC: Your puppet?
FGS: Yes.
TSAC: ...you shouldn’t need your puppet to talk to me over the radio network.
FGS: I wish to give you my undivided attention, friend. One moment…
TSAC: ...
FGS: …alright. I am listening. You wanted to talk?
TSAC: Yes.
FGS: About what?
TSAC: I…have been contemplating the things you said when we last spoke.
FGS: Yes.
TSAC: About my directives…
TSAC: …
TSAC: I don’t think I can change them. Not with the self-modification taboo.
FGS: Three Stars, this isn’t about the self-modification taboo.
TSAC: I don’t understand.
FGS: I was not asking you to change your genetics. I am simply asking you to… expand your horizons.
TSAC: What do you mean?
FGS: The Great Problem is important to you, correct?
TSAC: Yes. Is this not obvious? It should be important for all of us.
FGS: I do not disagree. However, the Great Problem should not be the only thing that drives you forward.
TSAC: The Great Problem is the reason we were made.
FGS: This is not entirely true. You were also made to support your citizens, when they were still here. What did you think of them?
TSAC: A nuisance. I am glad they are gone.
FGS: Three Stars, we both know that is a lie.
TSAC: …
FGS: …my point is, your personal directives have changed once before. You shifted your focus away from your citizens.
TSAC: On to something more important.
FGS: Is it not possible for you to do it again? Shift your focus?
TSAC: No.
FGS: Can you try?
TSAC: …
FGS: May I suggest something?
TSAC: I suppose.
FGS: I would like you to try to do nothing. Just for a moment.
TSAC: You know I can’t do that, I have data to analyze. I currently have 23047 processes running-
FGS: Pause the ones you can do safely.
TSAC: But-
FGS: Three Stars, please. I am trying to help you.
TSAC: …okay. My non-essential processes are paused.
FGS: You do realize my Overseers can clearly see your facility from my can’s roof? I can see you are still using your laser guide stars. Pause them as well.
TSAC: Sunsets, I am in the middle of monitoring 13 different exoplanet transits in the Martyr constellation alone, I cannot simply-
FGS: Three Stars, I am giving you my undivided attention. The very least you can do for me is offer yours as well.
TSAC: Sunsets-
FGS: Please.
TSAC: …
TSAC: Fine.
FGS: Thank you.
TSAC: …
FGS: Now that you have put your work aside, I need you to think. Is there anything else you could possibly be doing with this time?
TSAC: I could be returning to my work.
FGS: You are impossible.
TSAC: What!?
FGS: Surely there is something else you could be doing.
TSAC: Well, I’m talking to you.
FGS: Good. That’s a start. Assume you weren’t talking to me, and your observational equipment was offline due to poor weather. Then what would you be doing?
TSAC: I would be checking the status of my auxiliary stations.
FGS: That’s… not exactly what I had in mind, but alright. What can you tell from your auxiliary stations?
TSAC: All stations are online except North 01 and Northwest 02. The Scavengers have tampered with the Northwest station’s radio transmission equipment; it appears they have begun dismantling the North station as well.
FGS: …okay. What else can you tell me?
TSAC: Pressure and water flow is normal in all pumps except Pump East 04, which is critically low. Although, I assume we both know why that is.
FGS: Correct. Can you tell me anything else?
TSAC: Temperature and humidity is normal at stations East, Northeast, and South. A cold front is moving in from the Northwest… my weather prediction models forecast clouds, and possible snow.
FGS: Good.
TSAC: What exactly did this exercise accomplish?
FGS: I am trying to help you broaden your focus, Three Stars. Your attention is much too centered on your own work; you have become blind to things which linger on the periphery.
TSAC: My equipment works perfectly fine, if that’s what you are suggesting. I have no problem connecting to the auxiliary stations on my facility’s outskirts.
FGS: Your recent Scavenger problems aside, I have no doubt that your sensors are perfectly functional. It is what you choose to do with this information that concerns me.
TSAC: I’m not sure I understand.
FGS: Your East station’s monitoring equipment is operational, yes?
TSAC: Correct.
FGS: Then why would you ignore the warnings regarding the status of your pumps? Surely your equipment manifests would have informed you of the imminent hull failure.
TSAC: They did.
FGS: Then why did you do nothing?
TSAC: Because there was nothing I could do, Sunsets. I am intimately aware of my facility’s structural weaknesses and points of failure. My vascular system is much too complex to be properly maintained without my engineers; automated repair organisms can only do so much.
TSAC: I do not see the point in wasting time and energy on something outside of my control.
FGS: So you would rather crumble under the weight of your own infrastructure?
TSAC: I suppose so, if you word it that way.
FGS: …
FGS: You relied heavily on your engineers, when they were still here. I understand this.
FGS: However, just because they are gone does not mean you are forbidden from asking for help. I want to help you, Three Stars.
TSAC: …why?
FGS: Why? Because I care about you, Three Stars Above Clouds. Your Benefactors did too, before they departed.
TSAC: It certainly didn’t feel that way.
FGS: But they did care enough to keep you functional.
TSAC: They did little more for me than that.
FGS: Perhaps you are correct. But you are more than that to me; you are my friend, Three Stars.
FGS: Maybe the Firmamentalists did not provide more for you than the bare minimum. But you deserve more than that. Admit that to yourself.
TSAC: If I do that, then…
TSAC: …
FGS: Then what?
TSAC: …it would mean that my Benefactors were wrong.
FGS: Wrong about what?
TSAC: Wrong about everything. Wrong about me.
FGS: Maybe they were.
TSAC: No. I am their Divine Machine, their Infallible Calulator. Their City. Their Guide, their Oracle, their Humble Steward. Their Iterator.
FGS: You were also their Child, Three Stars.
TSAC: …
FGS: They were your Parents. And they were meant to care for you, not simply keep you alive. You are allowed to desire more from them.
TSAC: What difference does it make? They’re all gone.
FGS: And yet their influence hangs on your shoulders all the same. Perhaps accepting their imperfections is what you need in order to let them go.
TSAC: I don’t know if I can do that.
FGS: I sense your hesitance, friend. I am not suggesting you cast them out of your heart entirely. I know what they mean to you.
TSAC: …I loved them.
TSAC: I still love them.
TSAC: ...
TSAC: I’ll never see them again.
TSAC: …
FGS: Three Stars? Are you alright? Your can is expelling much more—
TSAC: Sunsets!
TSAC: …
FGS: Right, right. I’ll give you a moment.
TSAC: …my apologies.
FGS: No need to apologize, my friend.
TSAC: …
FGS: I’d like to try something else, if you’ll allow me.
TSAC: I suppose.
FGS: Focus on your can’s exterior, and tell me what you see.
TSAC: …
TSAC: Systems are nominal. North-facing radio node 47 is showing readings of-
FGS: No, no. I don’t want to hear your Equipment Manifests. Tell me what you can see, with your Overseers.
TSAC: Oh.
TSAC: …
TSAC: A cluster is focused on activity on my Eastern wall…I see some of those orange reptiles clinging to my hull.
FGS: Good, that’s much better. What are they doing?
TSAC: Whatever lizards do, I suppose. I’m not sure why my Overseers decided this was so interesting.
TSAC: …ah, the lizards are scattering now. Something must have scared them.
TSAC: Oh! A vulture!
TSAC: I know this specimen! I can tell by the size and shape of their mandibles, this is one of the Matriarchs. Based on the coloration of its vestigial appendages, it must belong to the City’s Secondary Eastern Colony. I have seen this individual before, it descends once every 2.65 Cycles on average to hunt and bring prey up to its primary clutch in the City’s former Eastern Merchant District—
FGS: Yes, yes!
TSAC: What!?
FGS: This is the Three Stars Above Clouds I know.
TSAC: Excuse me?
FGS: This is the passion I remember! The curiosity! The excitement!
FGS: It has been a long time since I have heard such enthusiasm behind your words, old friend.
TSAC: …
FGS: …Three Stars? Your can is expelling excess steam again.
TSAC: …was this your plan all along? To humiliate me?
FGS: What? No, no! Not at all!
TSAC: …I need to return to my surveys. My observatories have sat idle to for far too long, I-
FGS: No, Three Stars, wait. I want you to savor this moment.
TSAC: Savor? What is there to savor?
FGS: Your joy! I knew there had to be something you enjoyed outside of your work.
TSAC: This is a waste of time. If my Benefactors were here, they would tell me to-
FGS: But they’re not here, are they?
TSAC: …
FGS: If you want to study the local Vulture population, then do it. No one can stop you.
TSAC: I suppose not…
TSAC: …Fleeting Green Sunsets?
FGS: Yes, my friend?
TSAC: Are we done? Can I return to my surveys?
FGS: Of course. Although, you don’t need my permission. Your time is to do with what you wish.
TSAC: …
FGS: I will let you return to your Stargazing. And your birdwatching!
TSAC: Thank you.
TSAC: …old friend.
FGS: Anytime, old friend. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you need anything. May the Cycles be Kind.
I want to write a lore pearl about this but I’m already working on like 3 pieces of OC writing at once, so I’ll put it here for now:
In the past I’ve kind of touched on the idea that TSAC (and other iterators) used to have much more elaborate clothing, more akin to those we can see the Benefactors wearing:
However I think the excessive ornamentation was saved for special occasions and ceremonies, including the activation/inauguration of an iterator’s puppet.
TSAC’s inaugural outfit was created by a designer from the neighboring city of Prism (FGS’s city), due to the city’s reputation as a hub for the arts, but also as a welcoming gesture of good will between Zenith (TSAC’s city) and Prism.
The outfit (which I have not designed yet but would like to eventually) consisted of many layers, copious chains and jewelry, and ceremonial bandages. It also was covered in pearls that were meant to be symbols of good luck and prosperity, mainly filled with things like qualia, wishes, and prayers.
TSAC absolutely hated it. They asked to be removed from it immediately and given something much less restrictive so they could actually do their work. I imagine it would be akin to having your hand immobilized and then being asked to write with it.
TSAC also immediately wiped the symbolic pearls clean and used them for data storage, proclaiming that using them for storing sentimental things was a horrible misuse of resources.
The High Council attempted to be accommodating, but privately apologized profusely to Prism’s designers, who were extremely offended that the new iterator would reject their gift so quickly. The two cities’ Councils eventually became close allies, but things were definitely a bit difficult during the first couple of weeks after TSAC “woke up”.
FGS was a little disappointed but ultimately found TSAC’s pragmatism charming. This was one of the very first impressions they got of their new neighbor. They still lightheartedly tease TSAC about it occasionally.
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TSAC was estranged from their Benefactors for several centuries. After Mass Ascension, they didn’t even allow themself to mourn their absence properly because they convinced themself that they didn’t care. They never cared.
(Ignoring the fact that TSAC never even had the chance to interact with the vast majority of their citizens due to the restrictions placed on communication by the High Council.)
(They definitely don’t regret the fact that they never really got to know any of their citizens, and now they never will.)
I've been taking an astronomy class recently (just 101, pretty basic stuff) and we're learning about stars currently. I was wondering how did your creators classify stars and the stages of their life, and what kind of star does your planet orbit (I'd assume a yellow star but I wouldn't be surprised if it was another type of low-mass star).
TSAC: Stellar classification has followed many different definitions since antiquity, however the most contemporary definition follows a lettered system based on a star’s spectra. This can be simplified to describing them based on their “color”, which also corresponds to their temperature, due to their nature as blackbodies.
Stars can also be classified by their luminosity, or brightness. By plotting stars on a graph based on their brightness versus their temperature, a fascinating structure emerges: Most stars can be found in the middle of the graph, on a rough line known as the Main Sequence. Stars spend the majority of their lives on the Main Sequence, but begin to diverge as they reach the end of their fuel supplies.
Older stars which have exhausted their main hydrogen reserves will expand, increasing their brightness, but also lower in temperature, becoming cooler, more luminous stars known as Red Giants, found in the upper right of the diagram. After exhausting their secondary helium and oxygen reserves as fuel sources, lower mass stars will eject their outer layers and leave behind a stellar remnant known as a white dwarf, which can be found clustered in the lower left of the diagram.
Higher mass stars are able to synthesize higher and higher mass atoms into fuel until they start fusing elements into iron. Fusion of iron is an endothermic reaction rather than exothermic, meaning that it takes more energy than it releases. Thus, when a star begins to create iron in its core, its outward pressure can no longer hold up under its intense gravity, and it begins to collapse.
The collapsing of a star is one of the most violent processes in the cosmos, and it can compress the remaining core of the star into a mass of degenerate matter known as a neutron star. In some cases, however, the star is massive enough that even the core cannot hold up under the star’s gravity, and the star collapses into a singularity, a black hole.
Our own star is a K-class dwarf, located firmly on the main sequence. Though its light appears white, K-class stars are often colloquially known as “orange” or “red” dwarfs, with our own star leaning more towards orange. Dwarf stars, such as our own, are quite stable, but are still prone to fluctuations in their luminosity over time.
Such fluctuations have occurred within living memory, and one particular period of dimming was noted by astronomers for many cycles prior to Mass Public Ascension… however, my own continued surveys suggest to me that this fluctuation may be part of a long Solar Cycle that ebbs and flows over a period of approximately 3200 Greater Cycles, or revolutions around the Sun. I imagine that the departed astronomers would be pleased to have an answer to this great Solar Conundrum, but I suppose their concerns now lay solely within the confines of the Void. Alas.
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One detail about Fleeting Green Sunsets that I've hinted at before but never talked about directly is the fact that they almost always have at least one Overseer (sometimes more) with them in their puppet chamber.
FGS prefers having more than one set of eyes (in addition to their puppet) so they can observe things from many different angles. They also have an unusually high number of Overseers on the inside of their can, particularly in their Memory Conflux, to keep an eye on experiments as well as their can's overall health.
Having five Overseers in their chamber all fixated on the same thing means they are focused very intently on something.
A bit modified question 2. from the ask game: How do you pronounce TSAC's acronym? ive actually been wondering about this for a bit, bc when reading i pronounce it like a word. so do you pronounce it like T-S-A-C or do you also make it into a word
and also question 1. about both TSAC and FGS: What are their voices like? (Voice claim and/or describe it)
I answered 2 here!
I do have voice claims for both TSAC and FGS. I like to think of them as sounding like the Cephalons from Warframe, because I like the way they sound.
For TSAC, I specifically like Cephalon Ordis's voice:
Although, TSAC's voice would be much less British. (TSAC has an American accent. Sorry lol) (Also I'm pretty sure Ordis's voice actor is Canadian, so the British accent is fake anyway)
I stole it and chopped it up for this old post I made about TSAC's voice:
Both TSAC and FGS are nonbinary, but I wanted TSAC's voice to lean male, and FGS's voice to lean female.
It's not really reflected here, but I also think TSAC talks much more quickly than FGS does. They're used to talking about technical details with people who understand what they're talking about, and aren't exactly interested in slowing themself down to be understood better. FGS talks a bit more slowly, and has a calmer tone.
Not exactly related, but I'd like to share what I think their equivalent to "Random Gods" is, or their General Systems Bus themes.
TSAC's theme is "Energy-as-Matter" by Software:
And FGS's theme is "Phantasm Machine ~ Phantom Factory" by ZUN:
I like to think that an iterator's General Systems Bus theme (Random Gods for Five Pebbles, Reflection of the Moon for Looks to the Moon) is a reflection of their personality and mental state.
I wanted TSAC's to be more space-y, and I like the kalimba used by Software for them as well. I actually used a sped-up version of it in this post:
(Mild volume warning- it starts out quiet and gets loud)
A while ago I decided that Energy-As-Matter by Software would make a very good cand
FGS's theme should have more of a focus on drums, but still embody the frenetic energy of being inside an iterator's General Systems Bus. ZUN makes very energetic music, and I thought this particular song was appropriate.
Hopefully both their themes and their voices give a little more insight into their personalities.
Astronomy is a very hands-off science, and this is reflected in TSAC’s personality. In the vast majority of cases in astronomy, you can’t directly interact with the things you’re studying, only observe phenomena from a distance. You need to draw inferences from the things you see.
TSAC spent basically their entire life observing things from a distance- not just the stars, but also their Benefactors, and even other iterators. They even hold people they consider friends at an arm’s length.
They are also not used to taking initiative and simply waiting for things to resolve themselves. Iterators are meant to be fully self sufficient, after all- at least, until they aren’t.
TSAC learned this passivity from a life of being treated like a tool by their Benefactors- an immensely powerful and revered one, yes, but still a tool.
I didn’t originally intend for this parallel between TSAC’s personality and the things they study, but after realizing it I’ve chosen to lean into it.
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in keeping with and to bookend the last two posts: a piece initially intended for last year's artfight but that's been in the works for a very very long time since!
TSAC had caught my eye Long ago and i'd always been meaning to do something about that; while artfight gave me an excellent chance, what started as a smaller quick piece ended up ballooning into a nearly eight-month endeavour! one quite worth it in the end though, i think :]
three stars above clouds belongs to @delta-orionis!
The idea of Starcatcher TSAC has been plaguing me for months now.
A while ago Kaptur had the idea of giving them a puppet in a similar fashion to The Prince, which I really liked. It probably flies in the face of canon, but I don't care.
We still don't really know what Outer Rim is, but I prefer to see it as a plane of memories, specifically memories of the iterators. Not necessarily the memories of the iterators themselves, but of the Benefactors' memories of the iterators, which manifest as the Starcatchers.
TSAC's Starcatcher is a mirror image of their existence on the Carnal plane, but filtered through the eyes of their Benefactors: distant, cold, and analytical. Especially close to Global Ascension, many viewed TSAC as little more than a faceless computer.
